No one doubts that immigration reform is necessary. Immigrants who truly value the potential in American freedom go through years of bureaucratic entanglement and expensive legal fees before American citizenship is gained.

Careful study of numerous federal reports as well as studies from the private sector suggest the federal bureaucracy and elected officials completely failed to fulfill promises made when the Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed in 1986. Ironically, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was a major influencer in IRCA and he will exert major influence on pending legislation.

There’s more irony in potential influence from Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) who is reportedly headed to serve as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Both Schumer and Menendez are tainted. Neither Democrat should be part of immigration reform.

The other major problem, for those of us who were adults in 1986, is an epic failure on promises made to the American people. Those promises were made in legislation.

When the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was passed, Schumer and his colleagues (including then Rep. Leon Panetta (D-Calif.) promised, in a legal and binding contract to the American people, the border would be secured. That’s not all they promised and failed to do.

The president was mandated to provide a comprehensive immigration-impact report every three years. A waiting period was stipulated for benefits like Medicaid and food stamps. If you overstayed your visa, there could be no adjustment to permanent status.

One significant provision in IRCA prohibited implementation of a major change unless Congress provided funds for such purpose. Obama basically and illegally overturned IRCA with his personal DREAM Act initiative, done without approval of Congress and done purely in the interest of advancing Democrats’ political power with yet another unfunded giveaway.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will also exert influence over immigration reform, and a comment he made suggests that, aside from being a vocal ideologue, he is ignorant about immigration reform in general.

“We have virtually been going maybe 25 years without a clear statement about immigration policy...”

Send Durbin to the dunce corner. IRCA was enacted in 1986. You’d think Durbin would remember it, if for nothing else than its failures.However, IRCA was most definitely a "clear statement." Furthermore, the Act led to many of the issues surrounding border security and illegal entry today.

USA Today said that in 2010, approximately 400,000 illegal immigrants had been deported. Most were presumably criminals if we believe the Obama administration’s claims. Whether that 400,000 comprised 400,000 different people or simply instances of deportation (where the individual could come in and be deported again and theoretically be counted twice) is not known.

There is some hope for the new reforms. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whose parents were Cuban immigrants, has worked on the reform issue for at least a year.

Rubio’s office announced that senators would provide a “key update on bipartisan talks on comprehensive immigration reform” at 2:30 p.m. on Monday.

The challenge for those intent on reform will be the fiscal impact, a matter not taken realistically into account in 1986. Considering the current fiscal threat the U.S. faces, the cost of reform should be taken into account and that is something Democrats either fail to do or do by way of additional taxes (direct or indirect) on all Americans.